Always a Winner
Title - Always a Winner
Author - unwritten_ideas
Rating - PG
Word Count - 2,583
Characters - Gackt, Jon, You, Chacha, Takumi, U:zo, Shinya
Disclaimer - don’t own squat and if I did, I’d be posting this with pictures
Summary - Gackt has called a band meeting, but his band members are acting very strangely. He has no idea what’s going on, and the band like it that way…
Notes - just for lulz.
When Gackt opened the door to the small meeting room in the rehearsal studios, the room was buzzing with excited conversation. By the time he’d stepped over the threshold, the room was silent and he had six pairs of eyes, and six matching smiles, all staring up at him. He placed his coffee on the table in front of his seat, head of the table naturally, and narrowed his eyes at his six band members and friends. The silence was deafening, and those smiles were frightening.
What were they planning?
Gackt looked down the table. On the left side sat You, Takumi and U:zo, and on the right, Chacha, Jon and Shinya. They were all still staring at him expectantly, as if they were expecting him to break into song or burst into flames. Band meetings were not usually met with this amount of enthusiasm, or punctuality. Gackt usually had to hunt down and drag at least one band member out of their hiding place before the meeting could begin.
They were definitely planning something. Gackt didn’t like this at all.
He sat down, stared at the band, and resolved that whatever they were planning, he would not let it disturb their meeting. “We’re here to discuss the European tour, and to prepare for the Japanese one. Is that okay?” Six heads nodded in agreement. “Good. How do we think the European tour went?”
Chacha smiled. “I think it was a good tour. It was difficult as we didn’t have enough rehearsal time, but at the end of the day, I’m sure all of the fans went home with smiles on their faces.”
“Yeah, I agree,” You replied. “But, in future, let’s have more rehearsal time, huh?”
Gackt sighed. “Agreed. Things usually aren’t quite that hectic and unrehearsed,” he said as he looked apologetically at Jon, U:zo, Takumi and Shinya, the new members of the band, in turn.
“Don’t listen to him,” Chacha interrupted, “it’s always like this. I really despair sometimes.”
“It was fun,” Takumi said, “and I’m sure the fans were oblivious to our lack of preparation. They seemed to enjoy it.”
Jon smiled. “I think they did. Some fans came from really far away for the shows and I’m sure nobody went home disappointed.”
Gackt couldn’t help but smile in return. “I hope so. We gave it our all, despite the difficulties, and I hope the fans realised that and could feel what we were trying to achieve.”
“Gackt, I’m sure you could have stood there alone for two hours reading the newspaper and most of your dears would have been happy,” U:zo said, “especially if you ripped your shirt off when you got to the sports pages.”
Gackt laughed. “Maybe I’ll do that on the next tour. It’ll be far simpler and saner than touring with you guys.”
“Now, now, Gacchan,” Shinya said, “I’m sure some people wanted to see all seven of us.”
“Yeah, yeah… of course,” Gackt said dismissively. “It was a team effort. Now, what about Japan? Should we change things?”
Both Jon and Takumi tried to speak at the same time, but as Jon was loudest, Gackt gestured for him to speak.
“I think we should change the last song,” Jon grinned.
Gackt was a little puzzled by the groan of frustration that came from Takumi, and decided to ignore it. “You don’t like Uncontrol?”
“It’s a fun song,” Jon replied, “but I think…”
“We should say farewell to it!” Takumi said quickly, cutting off whatever Jon’s next words were going to be.
Jon glared across the table at the guitarist. If Gackt had been paying attention, he’d have noticed Takumi lick his finger and draw a single, straight line in the air as if he’d just scored a point. But, instead, Gackt was busy drinking his coffee.
“Hmm,” Gackt considered, “maybe we should. We used it for the encore last year too, so maybe we should try something different. Any ideas?”
Everyone remained silent for a few moments and Gackt could see from the looks of concentration on the six faces before him, that they were considering his question seriously. This was getting stranger and stranger. Usually, the band would pretend to be a part of the meeting. They would look interested and answer when prompted, but would leave the important decisions to Gackt, because they all knew that without doubt, it was always Gackt’s ideas that were taken forward and it was just quicker and easier to agree with whatever he suggested.
But they were actually thinking about this. And thinking hard.
Finally, it was Chacha who spoke. “Well, I’m longing to try another new song.”
Gackt was going to answer Chacha, but his response was stolen by the surprising sound of You smacking the table with his hand. You looked very frustrated over something, and was hastily scribbling in the notepad before him.
“Are you okay?” Gackt asked You.
“Huh?” You asked, as he looked up from the page before him. “Fine. Just a little miserable.”
“What are you writing?” Gackt asked.
“I think it’s a love letter to his girlfriend,” Chacha said.
Gackt was confused. “Girlfriend?”
Chacha was stifling a laugh when he next spoke. “I think her name is Maria.”
“Wait!” Gackt said loudly, “what girlfriend? I thought you were single?”
“I am, don’t ever listen to him,” You said, as he pointed at Chacha.
“Oh, don’t be shy, You-kun,” Chacha replied, “I think it’s sweet that you’re missing her this much.”
“If you don’t shut up,” You said through gritted teeth, “you won’t live to see your next decade.”
“Now, You-kun,” Gackt said loudly and firmly, “there’s no need for threats.”
“Don’t worry, Gaku,” You said sweetly, as if there had never been any frustration or anger in his earlier words, “this is all just a storm in a teacup, right Chacha?”
Chacha had no reply. He merely nodded in agreement, and scowled at the grinning You as You cheerfully wrote again in his notepad.
Gackt quickly glanced between his two guitarists and old friends, and shook his head. It was unlike You and Chacha to provoke each other like that, even if they had both brushed it off as quickly as it had started. There had to be something behind You’s harsh words, and quick dismissal of there being a problem.
Maybe he did have a secret girlfriend. Gackt resolved to speak to You later.
But, business first.
“So, a new encore and it’ll be one of the new songs. Is everybody happy with that?”
Everybody nodded in agreement apart from Shinya, who raised his hand. “Umm, is the encore still going to be just one, solitary song?”
Gackt looked at him. “My encores always are just one song.”
“Ah,” said U:zo, as he pointed at Gackt, “but this isn’t your concert. It’s YFC - another world. Maybe we should do two?”
Chacha shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The set list is long and tough enough as it is, I think it’d be a death wish to add any more songs to it on a regular basis. Maybe for the tour final.”
“I agree with Chacha,” Gackt said. “Even if we change the set list, we’ll keep the number of songs the same.”
“The set list wouldn’t be so tough if it wasn’t for speed master over there,” U:zo said as he pointed at Shinya, “getting progressively faster every night.”
“Hey! I’m always on perfect time! ,” Shinya shouted. “It’s not my fault if you damn kids can’t keep up! Jesus, try harder next time!”
U:zo barely managed to avoid the empty plastic cup that was thrown at him by Shinya from across the table.
“No fighting!” Gackt said. “What is wrong with you guys today? First, it was You and Chacha arguing, and now the rhythm section!”
“We’re all just eager to make this into the best possible tour we can,” Takumi said gently, “we’d be ghosts of our former selves if we didn’t try our hardest.”
Jon sniffed. “That’s so sweet, Takumi. You’re making me all misty eyed.”
“Yeah, makes me realise that tour planning and rehearsals are a long and hard road, but the end result is always worth it,” You said with a smile, before writing in his notepad again.
“You-kun,” Gackt asked, “what are you writing?”
“Umm…” You paused for a second. “I’m writing the minutes of this meeting! I thought this would be an important meeting, and you know how bad our memories are, so I decided to create a record of it.”
Gackt couldn’t help but be impressed. “That’s a fantastic idea! We should do that every meeting.” He paused. “So it really isn’t a love letter for a girl named Maria?”
You sighed. “No, I’m definitely single. My last kiss was nearly six months ago.”
“Oh, poor You,” said Chacha. “Maybe you should try a different approach with the girls? A different fragrance maybe?”
“Ladies love flowers,” Jon added helpfully.
U:zo nodded in agreement. “I always find that freesias are really popular with girls.”
“Guys,” Gackt said loudly, “we’re not here to discuss the state of You-kun’s pathetic love life.” You glared at everyone seated around the table. The other five just grinned at him. “Now, back to the tour.”
“I think we’d be justified in changing the staging a little too,” Jon said.
Gackt looked at him in surprise. Was this about the fanservice again? “How?”
“We could utilise the smoke machines again,” Takumi suggested helpfully. “We could use them to create an oasis of... er… rock.”
Shinya scoffed. “That’s a terrible idea. It’s bound to go up in flames.”
“I see no reason why we can’t use the smoke machines in Japan though,” You added. “Europe was difficult, but we should be okay in Japan as long as they don’t spew out too much ash again.”
“G, can we finish this meeting soon?” Jon asked. “I think it’s going to rain soon.”
Gackt looked at Jon with confused eyes. “We’re in the middle of discussing the staging of the show, that’s more important than getting your hair wet.” Gackt tilted his head to side, and glanced around the room. “And how do you know it’s going to rain soon? It hasn’t been forecast and there are no windows in this office.”
“Umm…” Jon said, biting his lip, “er, I can see a mirror outside the door. The sky is reflected in that!”
Chacha gently tapped Jon on the arm. “It’s a wooden door, you can’t see anything outside it. But, don’t worry; it’s just the speech of an illness. Illusions aren’t really there.”
“Jon’s ill?” Gackt asked worriedly.
“Yes,” U:zo said. “I think it came on rather suddenly.”
“It’s not serious though,” Takumi explained. “I’m sure he’ll be fine if he goes home and relaxes for the evening. Nice bath, vanilla scented candles… He’ll be fine.”
“If he’s ill though, maybe we should finish early,” Gackt said. He was still worried. He’d been rehearsing fanservice with Jon earlier. If he’d have known that there might have been germs involved, he’d have kept his hands to himself.
“I’m sure it’s not contagious,” You replied. He’d known Gackt long enough to know of Gackt’s germ phobia, “so don’t be so paranoid, doll face.”
“Doll face…?” Gackt whispered to himself.
“It’d be good if we could go early though,” Shinya said. “I need to go to the pet store. I want to buy a parrot, so I need to look at some birdcages.”
“I have a cooking class,” Takumi said brightly. “We’re making marmalade today!”
“Acting class!” U:zo exclaimed, “we’re rehearsing a vampire play so I need time to get into character and get my lust for blood flowing!”
Gackt looked around with a dumbstruck expression on his face. “What on earth are you guys talking about?!”
You ignored him. “I want to go to the store and buy a new kitchen as I want black stone counters.”
“I have a date,” Jon said. “She said she’d take me home and show me her secret garden.”
Gackt looked at Jon. “I don’t think you should be doing those kinds of activities while you’re ill.”
“Oh Jon, pay him no mind. Forests are fun,” said Chacha.
“Yeah they are,” U:zo agreed, “you can go searching for a blue lagoon in them.”
Takumi nodded. “A friend of mine got lost in a forest once, and he swears that he found some lost angels in there.”
“How did he know they were angels?” Chacha asked. “Did they have white eyes?”
“Or,” Shinya asked, “did they metamorphoze before his eyes?”
“Maybe they were time travelling angels,” U:zo suggested, “and they showed him their journey through the decades.”
“Guys, this conversation about angels is fascinating,” Gackt said, “but entirely pointless. Can we get back on track and… wait. What did you just say, U:zo?”
Gackt looked around the table, at the hidden smirks of his band members and finally, the enthusiasm, the arguments and the strange sentences all became clear.
“I hate you all,” Gackt said solemnly.
U:zo had to duck again as several plastic cups and pieces of paper were thrown in his direction.
“We could have carried this on for another thirty minutes if you hadn’t given the game away!” Chacha said as he pointed at U:zo.
“Yeah, good job U:zo,” said Shinya as he leaned over and hit U:zo.
“To be fair,” You said as he stared at the paper before him, “we were running out of song titles and I didn’t expect that we’d be able to get this many into the conversation before Gaku realised what we were doing.” You looked at Gackt and laughed. “You were really slow in recognising what we were doing.”
Gackt glared at You. “I didn’t expect you all to ruin something as important as a band meeting. You’re all fired.”
“No we’re not, dear,” Chacha said with a soft smile as he patted Gackt’s arm. “And stop pouting. You’ll get wrinkles.”
Gackt pouted even harder. “So, are you going to explain what this was all about?”
“Just some fun, G. A little competition between two teams to see who could say the most song titles before you discovered what we were doing,” Jon explained.
You turned around the paper in front of him so that Gackt could read it. There were two columns, one labelled “You, Takumi and U:zo”, and the other labelled “Chacha, Jon and Shinya”. Under each label was a list of the song titles that each team had used during the meeting.
“This is what you were writing?” Gackt asked.
You nodded. “I think it’s only right that you add up the scores and tell us who won.”
Gackt took the paper from You and started to count the song titles written on the page. The six members of the band that sat in front of him waited patiently as Gackt’s fingers moved across the page. Gackt checked the numbers twice, and then sat back into his seat.
“Well?” Chacha asked.
Gackt looked at them all again and picked up the piece of paper. “The winning team was…”
You leaned forward in his seat. “Who won?”
Gackt smiled. Then promptly ripped the paper into a dozen tiny pieces, and dropped them into his now cold coffee. “Sorry,” he said with a grin. “Nobody wins these contests other than me.”
Gackt could still hear the howls of protests and anger as he walked out of the meeting room.
~owari
Notes
1) Yes... please ignore the language problems and pretend they were all speaking English!
2) I hope everyone figured out what they were doing before Gackt did. Bless him. He's not very bright some days.
3) And of course, nobody can troll harder than Gackt can.
4) For those who are interested, the final score was (by my count) -
Chacha, Jon and Shinya - 25
You, Takumi and U:zo - 28
Yes... there are 53 song titles hidden in their dialogue. Try and find them!
Author - unwritten_ideas
Rating - PG
Word Count - 2,583
Characters - Gackt, Jon, You, Chacha, Takumi, U:zo, Shinya
Disclaimer - don’t own squat and if I did, I’d be posting this with pictures
Summary - Gackt has called a band meeting, but his band members are acting very strangely. He has no idea what’s going on, and the band like it that way…
Notes - just for lulz.
When Gackt opened the door to the small meeting room in the rehearsal studios, the room was buzzing with excited conversation. By the time he’d stepped over the threshold, the room was silent and he had six pairs of eyes, and six matching smiles, all staring up at him. He placed his coffee on the table in front of his seat, head of the table naturally, and narrowed his eyes at his six band members and friends. The silence was deafening, and those smiles were frightening.
What were they planning?
Gackt looked down the table. On the left side sat You, Takumi and U:zo, and on the right, Chacha, Jon and Shinya. They were all still staring at him expectantly, as if they were expecting him to break into song or burst into flames. Band meetings were not usually met with this amount of enthusiasm, or punctuality. Gackt usually had to hunt down and drag at least one band member out of their hiding place before the meeting could begin.
They were definitely planning something. Gackt didn’t like this at all.
He sat down, stared at the band, and resolved that whatever they were planning, he would not let it disturb their meeting. “We’re here to discuss the European tour, and to prepare for the Japanese one. Is that okay?” Six heads nodded in agreement. “Good. How do we think the European tour went?”
Chacha smiled. “I think it was a good tour. It was difficult as we didn’t have enough rehearsal time, but at the end of the day, I’m sure all of the fans went home with smiles on their faces.”
“Yeah, I agree,” You replied. “But, in future, let’s have more rehearsal time, huh?”
Gackt sighed. “Agreed. Things usually aren’t quite that hectic and unrehearsed,” he said as he looked apologetically at Jon, U:zo, Takumi and Shinya, the new members of the band, in turn.
“Don’t listen to him,” Chacha interrupted, “it’s always like this. I really despair sometimes.”
“It was fun,” Takumi said, “and I’m sure the fans were oblivious to our lack of preparation. They seemed to enjoy it.”
Jon smiled. “I think they did. Some fans came from really far away for the shows and I’m sure nobody went home disappointed.”
Gackt couldn’t help but smile in return. “I hope so. We gave it our all, despite the difficulties, and I hope the fans realised that and could feel what we were trying to achieve.”
“Gackt, I’m sure you could have stood there alone for two hours reading the newspaper and most of your dears would have been happy,” U:zo said, “especially if you ripped your shirt off when you got to the sports pages.”
Gackt laughed. “Maybe I’ll do that on the next tour. It’ll be far simpler and saner than touring with you guys.”
“Now, now, Gacchan,” Shinya said, “I’m sure some people wanted to see all seven of us.”
“Yeah, yeah… of course,” Gackt said dismissively. “It was a team effort. Now, what about Japan? Should we change things?”
Both Jon and Takumi tried to speak at the same time, but as Jon was loudest, Gackt gestured for him to speak.
“I think we should change the last song,” Jon grinned.
Gackt was a little puzzled by the groan of frustration that came from Takumi, and decided to ignore it. “You don’t like Uncontrol?”
“It’s a fun song,” Jon replied, “but I think…”
“We should say farewell to it!” Takumi said quickly, cutting off whatever Jon’s next words were going to be.
Jon glared across the table at the guitarist. If Gackt had been paying attention, he’d have noticed Takumi lick his finger and draw a single, straight line in the air as if he’d just scored a point. But, instead, Gackt was busy drinking his coffee.
“Hmm,” Gackt considered, “maybe we should. We used it for the encore last year too, so maybe we should try something different. Any ideas?”
Everyone remained silent for a few moments and Gackt could see from the looks of concentration on the six faces before him, that they were considering his question seriously. This was getting stranger and stranger. Usually, the band would pretend to be a part of the meeting. They would look interested and answer when prompted, but would leave the important decisions to Gackt, because they all knew that without doubt, it was always Gackt’s ideas that were taken forward and it was just quicker and easier to agree with whatever he suggested.
But they were actually thinking about this. And thinking hard.
Finally, it was Chacha who spoke. “Well, I’m longing to try another new song.”
Gackt was going to answer Chacha, but his response was stolen by the surprising sound of You smacking the table with his hand. You looked very frustrated over something, and was hastily scribbling in the notepad before him.
“Are you okay?” Gackt asked You.
“Huh?” You asked, as he looked up from the page before him. “Fine. Just a little miserable.”
“What are you writing?” Gackt asked.
“I think it’s a love letter to his girlfriend,” Chacha said.
Gackt was confused. “Girlfriend?”
Chacha was stifling a laugh when he next spoke. “I think her name is Maria.”
“Wait!” Gackt said loudly, “what girlfriend? I thought you were single?”
“I am, don’t ever listen to him,” You said, as he pointed at Chacha.
“Oh, don’t be shy, You-kun,” Chacha replied, “I think it’s sweet that you’re missing her this much.”
“If you don’t shut up,” You said through gritted teeth, “you won’t live to see your next decade.”
“Now, You-kun,” Gackt said loudly and firmly, “there’s no need for threats.”
“Don’t worry, Gaku,” You said sweetly, as if there had never been any frustration or anger in his earlier words, “this is all just a storm in a teacup, right Chacha?”
Chacha had no reply. He merely nodded in agreement, and scowled at the grinning You as You cheerfully wrote again in his notepad.
Gackt quickly glanced between his two guitarists and old friends, and shook his head. It was unlike You and Chacha to provoke each other like that, even if they had both brushed it off as quickly as it had started. There had to be something behind You’s harsh words, and quick dismissal of there being a problem.
Maybe he did have a secret girlfriend. Gackt resolved to speak to You later.
But, business first.
“So, a new encore and it’ll be one of the new songs. Is everybody happy with that?”
Everybody nodded in agreement apart from Shinya, who raised his hand. “Umm, is the encore still going to be just one, solitary song?”
Gackt looked at him. “My encores always are just one song.”
“Ah,” said U:zo, as he pointed at Gackt, “but this isn’t your concert. It’s YFC - another world. Maybe we should do two?”
Chacha shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The set list is long and tough enough as it is, I think it’d be a death wish to add any more songs to it on a regular basis. Maybe for the tour final.”
“I agree with Chacha,” Gackt said. “Even if we change the set list, we’ll keep the number of songs the same.”
“The set list wouldn’t be so tough if it wasn’t for speed master over there,” U:zo said as he pointed at Shinya, “getting progressively faster every night.”
“Hey! I’m always on perfect time! ,” Shinya shouted. “It’s not my fault if you damn kids can’t keep up! Jesus, try harder next time!”
U:zo barely managed to avoid the empty plastic cup that was thrown at him by Shinya from across the table.
“No fighting!” Gackt said. “What is wrong with you guys today? First, it was You and Chacha arguing, and now the rhythm section!”
“We’re all just eager to make this into the best possible tour we can,” Takumi said gently, “we’d be ghosts of our former selves if we didn’t try our hardest.”
Jon sniffed. “That’s so sweet, Takumi. You’re making me all misty eyed.”
“Yeah, makes me realise that tour planning and rehearsals are a long and hard road, but the end result is always worth it,” You said with a smile, before writing in his notepad again.
“You-kun,” Gackt asked, “what are you writing?”
“Umm…” You paused for a second. “I’m writing the minutes of this meeting! I thought this would be an important meeting, and you know how bad our memories are, so I decided to create a record of it.”
Gackt couldn’t help but be impressed. “That’s a fantastic idea! We should do that every meeting.” He paused. “So it really isn’t a love letter for a girl named Maria?”
You sighed. “No, I’m definitely single. My last kiss was nearly six months ago.”
“Oh, poor You,” said Chacha. “Maybe you should try a different approach with the girls? A different fragrance maybe?”
“Ladies love flowers,” Jon added helpfully.
U:zo nodded in agreement. “I always find that freesias are really popular with girls.”
“Guys,” Gackt said loudly, “we’re not here to discuss the state of You-kun’s pathetic love life.” You glared at everyone seated around the table. The other five just grinned at him. “Now, back to the tour.”
“I think we’d be justified in changing the staging a little too,” Jon said.
Gackt looked at him in surprise. Was this about the fanservice again? “How?”
“We could utilise the smoke machines again,” Takumi suggested helpfully. “We could use them to create an oasis of... er… rock.”
Shinya scoffed. “That’s a terrible idea. It’s bound to go up in flames.”
“I see no reason why we can’t use the smoke machines in Japan though,” You added. “Europe was difficult, but we should be okay in Japan as long as they don’t spew out too much ash again.”
“G, can we finish this meeting soon?” Jon asked. “I think it’s going to rain soon.”
Gackt looked at Jon with confused eyes. “We’re in the middle of discussing the staging of the show, that’s more important than getting your hair wet.” Gackt tilted his head to side, and glanced around the room. “And how do you know it’s going to rain soon? It hasn’t been forecast and there are no windows in this office.”
“Umm…” Jon said, biting his lip, “er, I can see a mirror outside the door. The sky is reflected in that!”
Chacha gently tapped Jon on the arm. “It’s a wooden door, you can’t see anything outside it. But, don’t worry; it’s just the speech of an illness. Illusions aren’t really there.”
“Jon’s ill?” Gackt asked worriedly.
“Yes,” U:zo said. “I think it came on rather suddenly.”
“It’s not serious though,” Takumi explained. “I’m sure he’ll be fine if he goes home and relaxes for the evening. Nice bath, vanilla scented candles… He’ll be fine.”
“If he’s ill though, maybe we should finish early,” Gackt said. He was still worried. He’d been rehearsing fanservice with Jon earlier. If he’d have known that there might have been germs involved, he’d have kept his hands to himself.
“I’m sure it’s not contagious,” You replied. He’d known Gackt long enough to know of Gackt’s germ phobia, “so don’t be so paranoid, doll face.”
“Doll face…?” Gackt whispered to himself.
“It’d be good if we could go early though,” Shinya said. “I need to go to the pet store. I want to buy a parrot, so I need to look at some birdcages.”
“I have a cooking class,” Takumi said brightly. “We’re making marmalade today!”
“Acting class!” U:zo exclaimed, “we’re rehearsing a vampire play so I need time to get into character and get my lust for blood flowing!”
Gackt looked around with a dumbstruck expression on his face. “What on earth are you guys talking about?!”
You ignored him. “I want to go to the store and buy a new kitchen as I want black stone counters.”
“I have a date,” Jon said. “She said she’d take me home and show me her secret garden.”
Gackt looked at Jon. “I don’t think you should be doing those kinds of activities while you’re ill.”
“Oh Jon, pay him no mind. Forests are fun,” said Chacha.
“Yeah they are,” U:zo agreed, “you can go searching for a blue lagoon in them.”
Takumi nodded. “A friend of mine got lost in a forest once, and he swears that he found some lost angels in there.”
“How did he know they were angels?” Chacha asked. “Did they have white eyes?”
“Or,” Shinya asked, “did they metamorphoze before his eyes?”
“Maybe they were time travelling angels,” U:zo suggested, “and they showed him their journey through the decades.”
“Guys, this conversation about angels is fascinating,” Gackt said, “but entirely pointless. Can we get back on track and… wait. What did you just say, U:zo?”
Gackt looked around the table, at the hidden smirks of his band members and finally, the enthusiasm, the arguments and the strange sentences all became clear.
“I hate you all,” Gackt said solemnly.
U:zo had to duck again as several plastic cups and pieces of paper were thrown in his direction.
“We could have carried this on for another thirty minutes if you hadn’t given the game away!” Chacha said as he pointed at U:zo.
“Yeah, good job U:zo,” said Shinya as he leaned over and hit U:zo.
“To be fair,” You said as he stared at the paper before him, “we were running out of song titles and I didn’t expect that we’d be able to get this many into the conversation before Gaku realised what we were doing.” You looked at Gackt and laughed. “You were really slow in recognising what we were doing.”
Gackt glared at You. “I didn’t expect you all to ruin something as important as a band meeting. You’re all fired.”
“No we’re not, dear,” Chacha said with a soft smile as he patted Gackt’s arm. “And stop pouting. You’ll get wrinkles.”
Gackt pouted even harder. “So, are you going to explain what this was all about?”
“Just some fun, G. A little competition between two teams to see who could say the most song titles before you discovered what we were doing,” Jon explained.
You turned around the paper in front of him so that Gackt could read it. There were two columns, one labelled “You, Takumi and U:zo”, and the other labelled “Chacha, Jon and Shinya”. Under each label was a list of the song titles that each team had used during the meeting.
“This is what you were writing?” Gackt asked.
You nodded. “I think it’s only right that you add up the scores and tell us who won.”
Gackt took the paper from You and started to count the song titles written on the page. The six members of the band that sat in front of him waited patiently as Gackt’s fingers moved across the page. Gackt checked the numbers twice, and then sat back into his seat.
“Well?” Chacha asked.
Gackt looked at them all again and picked up the piece of paper. “The winning team was…”
You leaned forward in his seat. “Who won?”
Gackt smiled. Then promptly ripped the paper into a dozen tiny pieces, and dropped them into his now cold coffee. “Sorry,” he said with a grin. “Nobody wins these contests other than me.”
Gackt could still hear the howls of protests and anger as he walked out of the meeting room.
~owari
Notes
1) Yes... please ignore the language problems and pretend they were all speaking English!
2) I hope everyone figured out what they were doing before Gackt did. Bless him. He's not very bright some days.
3) And of course, nobody can troll harder than Gackt can.
4) For those who are interested, the final score was (by my count) -
Chacha, Jon and Shinya - 25
You, Takumi and U:zo - 28
Yes... there are 53 song titles hidden in their dialogue. Try and find them!